


Unexpected

by PyraAlchemist



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:27:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29248776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyraAlchemist/pseuds/PyraAlchemist
Summary: After a successful first year a stranger comes introducing themselves to the new farmer at Fiddle Foot Farm.
Relationships: Kent & Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't written anything in awhile but this has been stuck in my head for a loooong time!
> 
> Please enjoy! ^_^

It was hard to believe she had been living on a farm for a year. It was even harder to believe she was actually doing well at living on a farm. The winter had been boring and slow, but thanks to Robin and Marnie, she had prepared her coop and barn so her animals would be alright and she wouldn’t have to worry about them freezing. She had even managed a small vacation in the Calico Desert during the winter when she asked Shane to watch her Animals for a weekend. Gambling at Mr.Qi’s Casino was fun and as it turned out fruitful, having made back her gold and then some. 

But as the sun rose into the fresh spring sky she rolled over in her bed and groaned. Today was going to be a long day of cleaning her fields for her spring planting. At least she had her greenhouse already looked after with those automatic sprinklers she had Robin instal last year. 

Getting out of bed she tied her hair into a bun and changed into her farming gear. Bundling up for the cold spring morning, she set her coffee machine to percolate and set out to her coop to tend to her animals. 

Shane had given her a few of his special blue chickens when he showed them to her and she had to admit, Azure and Lapis were her favourite. Having gathered all the eggs she could find hidden around the coop she moved on to her barn, where her cows, goats, sheep, and pigs greeted her loudly. Thankfully Greta, her mama cow, was happy and not combative today, allowing her a quick milking and she opened the barn doors to allow them out grazing. It was still cold but her sheep seemed to love it.

Traveling back up to her house with her arms full she saw a figure walking up her drive. She hustled up to her porch to put her items away before they arrived at her door. A few moments later she heard a knock, she looked at her stove clock and it read 8am, she thought it was odd someone from town would be out here this early. 

Opening the door she was greeted by a tall muscular man she had never seen before. His dark blond hair was shorn at the sides and longer at the top and his face was set in a hard way, an almost scowl. He wore a green military jacket indicating him as a corporal. She froze, her face falling from a pleasant neighbourly smile into a grimace. 

“Hello, Corporal,” she said with a flat tone.

The stranger's eyes widened slightly at his military title, “Hello, ma’am,” he nodded his head in greeting, “My name's Kent. I just got back from service and my wife Jodie told me a new farmer moved into the old house up here. I thought I’d come and introduce myself.” He smiled slightly, one corner of his mouth lifting a bit more than the other. 

She looked at the man in front of her as he spoke and her eyes softened as she nodded, “well, thank you for coming all this way to introduce yourself. My name’s Saphina,” she extended her hand and he took it.

“Nice to meet you Saphina, it’s good to see this Farm up and running again. Jodie told me you’re Reggies granddaughter?”

Saphina nodded her head. “Mmmhmm, that’s right.” She had folded her arms across her chest and was leaning against her door frame looking Kent over. “What branch of the military were you in?”

Kent, a little taken aback by her question gained his composure quickly. “Just the army ma’am,” he paused looking at the farmer in front of him, “why do you ask?”

She sighs. “How are you sleeping?” She pushes herself off the door frame and closes her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. _Great, good going Saph, being a total bitch to the war vet._

“Uh- I”

She waves her hand. “I didn’t sleep for months when I was discharged.” She motioned for him to enter, kicking off her boots.

“You served too?” Kents voice was low and gravelly as he followed her. “When?” he said. She couldn’t be much older than Sam, he thought.

“Oh , a few years back now. I was a field medic for,” she paused thinking, “2 years, yeah, paid for my schooling then shipped me off when the war started.” She turned back over to Kent and looked at him, she was smiling now, but her eyes were dark.

Kent nodded, not knowing what to say.

“Sit, I’ll grab you some coffee,” she moved around the kitchen in silence as he sat down at the table. 

“Ho- how old are you, if you don’t mind my asking. You don’t seem much older than my son Sam.” 

She chuckled quietly and turned around, “I’m 30, actually. 31 in the summer.” 

His eyes widened and he shook his head, “you look- I mean, you- uh” he trailed off as Saphina put a cup filled with coffee in front of him. He picked it up gratefully. She smiled behind her own mug and took a sip.

“Back to my question, how have you been sleeping?” she eyed him thoughtfully. 

He looked up at where she stood leaning against the counter, the sun coming through the window behind her, framing her in gold. “Not well,” he found himself saying, “I find myself waking up alot and not being able to get back to sleep. Little noises keep me awake and wake me up.” Saphina nods in acknowledgement.

“It’s hard to get yourself to relax, being back home is rough,” she fiddles with her cup, looking down into its dark contents. 

Kent sighs and begins to get up from his chair, snapping Saphina out of her trance. “I have something that might help you relax a bit?” she pushed herself off the counter and moved towards the front door. “Come with me, I’ll grab some for you.”

He followed her out of her house. They walked in silence for what to him felt like hours. They arrived at a greenhouse, Saphina taking out some keys and unlocking it she motioned for him to enter. 

Inside it was humid and warm, a large contrast to the chill of the early Spring morning. He looked around and saw rows upon rows of all kinds of plants. Looking over he saw Saphina smile as she entered and closed her eyes.

“Should be over here,” she moved through the jungle of plants expertly, Kent decided he’d rather stay at the front door, so as to not step on anything important. Watching Saphina wind her way through he couldn’t help but admire how her brown hair seemed to turn a tinge red in the light being refracted by the glass, and how the way she moved seemed so fluid and almost dance like. “Ah!, found it!” she called out from across the greenhouse, holding up a jar of something. 

Making her way back Saphina could see Kent standing awkwardly at the greenhouse doors, his height making him pop out amongst the plants nicely. She wiped away a few sweat droplets from her forehead as she came up beside Kent, handing him the jar. “Here, you can take this.”

His eyebrow went up in question, “what is it?” she laughed, a sweet sound he noticed, something like honey and sunshine.

“It’s weed,” her smile, reaching her eyes this time. Lifting two fingers to her lips and imitating smoking a joint, she giggled and moved past him.

His cheeks felt hot and he wondered if she could tell, “oh- I- Okay.” With another laugh Saphina excited the greenhouse.


	2. Birthday

It had been a few days since Saphina had met Kent, she had scolded herself for being rude to him and had hoped he had forgotten that part of their interaction. Having been into town to buy her seeds for her spring planting and then being hold up on her farm for the next few days she was surprised when Mayor Lewis arrived in his truck early for pick ups. 

“Afternoon, Lewis!” she raised her arm in greeting over her head as she jogged up the path to his truck.

“Hello, Saphina. Beautiful day isn’t it?”

She smiled as she approached him and nodded. “Gorgeous. You’re early today, something going on in town?”

Tipping his hat in greeting he smiled. “Oh yes, Jodie is throwing her husband Kent a welcome back birthday party. She asked me if I could come up here early and invite you.”

Saphina cocked her head to the side.“Yeah? I’d love to come down. When is it?” She asked, brushing her hands off on her overalls. 

“Oh the party starts around 5 at the Stardrop, Jodie also asked if you could bring some of that wine you’ve been mulling.” 

Saphina sighed, “yeah I can bring 1 or 2 bottles, but I really need to save them for selling.” 

Lewis chuckled, “it’s all for the fun of the party, Saphina!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know” she waved him away. “Tell Jodie I’ll be there.”

She helped Lewis pack his truck with her products and waved him goodbye. _Why does everyone assume I want to give me products away for free?_ With a heavy sigh she went inside to wash up. 

After putting her animals away for the night, Saphina took a long hot shower. Most of Pelican Town’s parties didn’t matter to her, but Saphina felt for some reason she wanted to look her best tonight. This meant looking through her closet of now mostly flannels, overalls, and hole ridden clothes for something decent. 

She landed on a pair of black skinny jeans from her days in the city, and a black top with a jean jacket. She paired it with some decent leather boots and some small earrings. Applying makeup took her some time, having abandoned all hopes of any femininity while working the farm when she arrived last year. But settling with some mascara, blush, eyeshadow and lipgloss she felt like she looked like her old city self. 

“What do you think, Midna?” she looked down at her black cat lounging on her bed. Getting a soft “murph” back she decided it meant she liked it. 

Patting her cat on her head she left her house and walked into town. 

Arriving at the Stardrop Saphina went straight to the bar to grab a drink. “Hey, Gus. Whiskey, neat.”

“You got it Saphina” Gus moved deftly behind the bar producing her drink and sliding it over to her. She smiled at him and cheersed. Turning around she surveyed the room.

Almost everyone in town was here. She could hear Sam, Abigail, and Sebastion playing pool in the next room, the clink clack of the balls a familiar sound. She looked to her right and saw Leah and Elliot chatting with their heads together over their drinks. Pam was talking to Marnie by the bar and in the Corner Shane had grabbed Emily’s attention. She saw Willy chatting with Marlon and Clint, and Lewis was talking to Harvey about something she could almost make out, “something something-new equipment- something-funding-something- not enough staff-” she turned her attention elsewhere. In the corner she saw Haley and Alex together, each with a water chatting and Robin and Demetrius were dancing in the aisle. Sitting together in the far left was George and Evelyn. Evelyn fussing over something and George rolling his eyes, Saphina smiled, she liked George and Eveyln. 

The bar doors opened and in walked Jodie, Caroline, Pierre, Maru and Penny, followed by Vincent and Jas. _No Kent?_ She thought. 

Jodie walked over to Emily who nodded and rang a little bell. Everyone looked over at her. She smiled and motioned to Jodie who blushed deeply and cleared her throat.

“H-hi everyone, as you all know Kent came back a few days ago from active duty and today is his birthday. So I thought it would be nice to get everyone together for a surprise party!” She smiled and clapped her hands together. _Oh boy_ thought Saphina.

Everyone cheered and Emily rang the bell again, clearing her throat she began talking, “Jodie asked Gus to host it all here since everyone loves his cooking so much,” she smiled and batted her eyes at him, “and so Jodie is going to go out and grab Kent and when he enters we are all going to go SURPRISE!” She jumped and clapped her hands, smiling widely. Saphina always thought Emily was sweet, doing whatever she could for others. 

Jodie smiled shyly at everyone and said, “thank you all for being here tonight, it means alot to us” She gestured to Vincent and Sam.

After Jodie left the bar everyone got situated and waited for her to return with Kent. All Saphina could think of was that this WASN’T a good idea. From her one interaction with Kent she just knew he wasn’t going to like being surprised. She fiddled with her jacket sleeves as she waited, wanting to just go outside and smoke a joint.

The door opened and everyone yelled in unison “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” The kids coming in slightly after the adults. 

Saphina watched Kents face carefully as he entered, she saw his face go rigid, his eyes go wide and pupils dilate. She saw his shoulders tense and his fists ball up. She saw him plaster on a fake smile and say, “thank you guys, you didn’t have to do this.” Turning to his wife he said, “Jodie you really didn’t have to do this.” Giving her a quick peck on the cheek he made his way into the crowd of people, shaking their hands and thanking them all for coming. 

Watching Kent go through the crowd of people Saphina never once saw his shoulders relax, and never once saw his fake smile leave. She sipped her drink at the bar watching, until he came over and said “Thanks for coming Saphina”

She nodded, taking a sip of her whiskey, “yeah, no problem.” Putting down her now empty cup, “Ima head out for a smoke, care to join?”She motioned to the door.

He looked around at everyone in the bar, his wife was chatting with Caroline and Robin and no one was paying attention to him anymore. Saphina saw his shoulders relax a bit. He nodded, “I could use one.”

She produced a silver case and tucked a joint behind her ear, walking towards the door. Kent watched her walk away for a bit, watched as she threw her long dark hair over her shoulder. Watched as she moved effortlessly through the people like she was walking on nothing but air. 

It was cold outside, and Saphina was leaned up against the brick of the bar, lighting her joint. Kent walked down the steps and joined her. She took a few puffs and passed it to him, holding it in as long as she could. 

“Happy birthday,” she said, giving him a smile that made his heart give an extra t _hump_ . _What the hell, why did she make him feel like that? You’re married Kent, you’ve got two kids for Yobas sake._

“Thanks,” he said, exhaling and passing it back.

She smiled again and took another drag, closing her eyes as she did so. _Yoba she’s beautiful._ Kents eyes traveled her face, taking everything in he could. Her hair framed her face in a cascade of darkness, her pink lips standing out as her long eyelashes grazed the tops of her cheeks. She let out the breath she was holding and opened her eyes, the green in them piercing the darkness. She looked over at him and smiled, handing him the joint. 

“How have you been sleeping? Weed help?” she asked in a husky voice, her eyes trained on him.

He shrugged, holding in his breath. Handing over the joint to her he let it out. “I don’t know, I think it helps calm the nerves after.”

She took a drag and nodded, “yeah” she croaked out as she held it in.

They passed the joint around in silence after that, just looking out over the dark town, listening to the faint noise coming from inside. 

She pushed off the side of the building and reached into her coat producing an envelope. “I didn’t have much warning” she said as she handed it to him with a shy smile. She walked past him and clapped him on the shoulder, “Another year,” and headed back inside for a drink.


	3. Snails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so late! Life, ya know.

Saphina rolled over in her bed to silence her alarm, groaning she pulled the covers over her head.  _ I just want to go back to sleeeeeep. _ She could hear the rain on her tin roof and did not want to go outside any time soon. But life on a farm was what she had chosen and like it or not her animals needed feeding. 

She whipped the covers off and rushed to get dressed trying to keep her post bed warmth. She donned her rain gear and trudged through the mud to her coop. It had been raining for 3 days now. Her last visit into town was to give Lewis his birthday wine. She was starting to miss Gus’s whiskey pouring abilities. She fed her chickens, ducks, and rabbits with all the speed her cold fingers could muster and went into her warm barn. Her cow Greta greeted her with a low “mooo” and she went to check on her other cow Nila, who was pregnant. Still no baby, too bad she thought, would be nice to have a calf on the farm again. 

Running to check on her crops, which were doing perfectly fine, she dashed to her house to grab some breakfast. After her breakfast she went to her shed and checked on her aging cheeses and various fermenting liquids. All were doing well so she decided to hop into a nice warm bath for the rest of the morning. 

By the afternoon the rain was more of a slight drizzle and it seemed like the sun was going to make an appearance. She decided to go into town and hopefully not get caught in a downpour like she did Sunday evening. Grabbing her wellies and raincoat she headed into town for lunch and a well deserved drink.

She decided to take the back roads, past Marnie’s, more scenic she told herself. A small redheaded boy by the lake caught her eye and she went to go see what Vincent was up to all alone. 

“Vincent?!” she called out, walking up the path to the lake by Leah’s little cottage.

The boy started slightly and turned around. “Hi Miss Saphina!” He proclaimed. 

“What are you doing?” She asked as she came up beside him.

“I’m looking for snails, they like the rain. And I like snails!”

She nodded her head, “well I don’t think you’ll find them here. They like rocks more than sand.” She went to squat down beside him. “Are you out here by yourself?”

He looked around and nodded. “Yeah Sam doesn’t like snails and mom thinks they’re gross.”

“Well what about your Dad? What does he think about snails, I’m sure he’d come out with you.”

He looked up at her and frowned, “I don’t want to bother him…. He seems so serious.”

She nodded her head, “well I’m sure he’d love to look for snails with you. Why don’t we go into town and ask him?” She reached her hand out as she stood up.

“Okay…” he took her hand and looked back at the lake. “Do you have snails on your farm Miss. Saphina?” he asked, looking up at her with big eyes.

“Oh tons! They eat through all my leaves though so I have to take them to other places like here,” she gestured to the forest. 

“It’s my birthday today, did you know that?” he began to babble, “Im 7.”

Saphina shook her head and said, “no, I didn’t know that! You’re getting so old.”

He smiled at that and said, “I’m older than Jas, she's only 6.”

Saphina laughed, “yes well her birthdays coming up too isn’t it?”

They walked to town like this, talking back and forth about nothing in particular. They reached his house and he threw open the door. Saphina entered and called out, “Hello? Jodie? Kent? Sam?”

“Hello?” Kents voice came from the back of the house. 

“Hey Kent, I ran into Vincent in the forest.” Saphina said as she waited at the front door. Vincent had flown into the kitchen where she heard a fridge door open and close. 

Kent walked into the living room, “Oh, I was wondering where everyone went.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Saphina smiled at him. “He was looking for snails.” She said a little quietly. 

Kent cocked his head to one side and looked back over his shoulder to where his son was in the kitchen getting himself something to drink. “Snails?”

She nodded her head, “yuuup. Little slimy things with shells. I told him he shouldn’t be in the forest alone like that. So I brought him back.”

“Uh-yeah- Thats- uh, Thank you.” He looked uncomfortable, like he was unsure what to do with himself in his own home. 

That’s when Vincent came running out of the kitchen, “can we go hunting for snails now?!” He looked to his father and then to Saphina.

Saphina looked at her watch. “It’s lunch time buddy, maybe we should go to the Stardrop?” She looked at Kent with a smile.

Kent looked at his son and then up at Saphina, who was smiling at him - _ thump- _ “uh yeah that’s good”

“Uuughhhh! But you said we could go looking for snails!” He looked over at Saphina.

“I know buddy, but honestly I’m starving. We can go after, I promise. I know all the good spots they like to hide too!” She crouched down and ruffled his hair.

“FINE! I want chicken fingers!” Vincent shoved his feet into his wellies and ran out the door. 

Kent watched as Saphina straightened up and looked at him. “Uh thanks, you don’t have to come with us.”

“Nah it sounds like fun, and I was going to the Stardrop for lunch anyways.” She smiled and went for the door, looking back over her shoulder she saw Kent staring at her. “What?” she laughed, “something on my face?”

He shook his head and felt heat rush to his ears. “No, I- Just- uh--” he trailed off and just looked to the ground embarrassed. 

She looked at him confused then shook her head and went outside. Kent put his shoes on and followed. 

Lunch was uneventful, Vincent got his chicken fingers, Saphina chose the special of the day Tom kha soup and Kent asked for Crispy sea bass. 

The group made their way to the Cindersnap forest and Saphina told Vincent all the secrets of the snails. Kent couldn’t help but watch her. The way she spoke to his son so patiently and let him ask as many questions as he wanted without getting frustrated, or bored, amazed him. He watched her tuck her hair behind her ear and watched her face light up when she laughed at something Vincent said or did. His heart did an extra - _ thump- _ when she smiled at him, or hell even looked over her shoulder at him. He didn’t understand why he was feeling this way over someone he just met a week ago, let alone why he was feeling like this when he had Jodie at home. But he couldn’t help it. Everytime she looked at him there it was -  _ thump- -thump thump- -thump- _

Saphina points to a little alcove in the woods and tells Vincent this is where she always puts her snails when she needs to give them new homes. His eyes light up and he races forwards. “Be careful Vincent! Don’t scare them!” She called out after the little figure. 

“You really didn’t have to do this. You’re probably very busy.” Kent had made his way to Saphina’s side.

“Oh, I don’t mind. My day’s pretty free so it’s nice to have something to do.” She looked over at him with a smile, - _ thump- _

“DAD!” Vincent -yelling from behind a rock- holding in his hands three tiny snails.

“I see ‘em buddy. Good ones!” Yelling back to his son.

Saphina watched the two yell back and forth and couldn’t help but notice the broadness of Kents shoulders and the tight fit of his jacket as he went to help his son. She watched as he walked to the rocks and felt a flutter inside herself.  _ What was that, Saph? He’s Married!  _

Looking over his shoulder Kent sees the light filtering through the trees. It dances around Saphina like stardust, illuminating her skin and highlighting her brown hair with streaks of red and gold. - _ Thump _ \- She opens her eyes and looks at him, the greenness of them sparking something inside him. - _ thump- -thump thump- -thump- _


	4. The Egg Festival

The next few days were spent getting ready for the town’s Egg Festival. Having planted flowers in her greenhouse in the winter, Saphina found herself in Evelyn’s backyard helping the old woman decorate barrels and bipedal planters. 

“These are such beautiful flowers, dear. Thank you for thinking ahead and growing them for us.” Evelyn talked over a tall display of flowers with cutouts of eggs and bunnies scattered around the table. 

“It was no trouble Evelyn. Really, my greenhouse has plenty of room; just look at how beautiful the displays will be this year.” Saphina Smiled at the old woman and tucked a tulip into her arrangement. 

“Evelyn!” George's voice came from inside. “Evelyn! Why’re there flowers everywhere! I can’t see the dang T.V!” He got louder as he made his way to the back door. Opening it he was greeted by even more flowers and his wife’s frown. 

“George, today’s the Egg Festival and Saphina brought over all the flowers that we’d be needing for the decorations.” She put her hands on her hips as she looked at her husband. “ I told you this last night at dinner. Why don’t you go read a book.” She huffed at him and turned around fiddling with her arrangements. 

Saphina looked at the flowers in her hands and tried her best not to make eye contact with George. All she needed right now was for him to drag her into another one of his fights.

Mid morning passed by and Saphina excused herself when Alex came home to help distribute the flower arrangements around town. She still needed to go home and get the eggs she had promised Marnie. 

As she excused herself she saw Kent watching her from across the town square. She made her way over to him with a smile. 

“Morning, Kent.”

With a small smile that pulled one corner of his mouth up more than the other Kent nodded and said. “Hello, Saphina. How’s your mornin’ been?”

She brushed a loose piece of hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear. “Busy,” she huffed resting her hands on her hips nonchalantly. “Find any more Snails?” She smirked. 

The last time they had spoken was when Vincent had dragged them both into the forest snail hunting and had begged Kent to take some home. Kent had agreed, to Vincent's surprise. 

Kent chuckled. “No, thank Yoba. Jodie almost had a heart attack when she came home to snails on her kitchen table.” 

Saphina laughed, her warm honey laugh that Kent loved. “I bet she just loves being outnumbered by boys.” 

The sun was out and Kent noticed the way it outlined Saphinas hair with red and gold. “She made Vincent put them outside in the garden. He wasn’t too happy but he did it.” He couldn’t stop staring at her. The way she lit up when she talked. The way her smile reached her eyes when she laughed. 

“Well I’d say ‘boys will be boys’ but I was exactly the same.” She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “I always loved bringing in all sorts of animals and bugs. Much to my parents' dismay.” Her smile was warm and inviting. - _ thump- _

Kent rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her, feeling his ears get hot. 

“Are you excited for your first Pelican Town festival since being back?” She asked, her voice playful.

Keeping his eyes to the ground he shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve never really liked eggs.”

She laughed, “I understand that all too well. That false egg substitute they fed us in the military was nasty.” Her face scrunched up in disgust as she finished talking.

Kent looked up at her with a smile, he often forgot she knew what military life was like. “Sometimes I skipped breakfast if that was all they had.” He said as Saphina laughed. Her laugh was infectious, he couldn’t help but laugh along with her. 

Smiling, she said, “I couldn’t eat eggs for weeks when I came home.” She laughed and shook her head. “Last year’s festival was the first time I didn’t cringe after taking a bite of something egg related. You should have seen Marnie, she was so excited that I tried all her egg dishes.” She chuckled. “You might be surprised by the lack of gross that farm fresh eggs have!”

Laughing Kent couldn’t help how he felt towards Saphina. He didn’t remember the last time he felt so at ease with someone. 

“Ahh, I should go.” Saphina said, looking down at her watch. “I still need to go to Marnie’s.” She gestured to her dirt stained clothes. “And get changed.”

“You look good to me.” As soon as the words left his mouth he felt the blood rush to his neck and ears. Looking anywhere but at her he said. “I- I me-mean, y-you look fi-ine in what y-you’re wearing.” He was one-hundred-percent sure his face was bright red. With a quick wave he turned on his heel and walked into Pierres store. 

Looking after Kent, his quick exit leaving her standing in the square alone, she felt a couple butterflies in her stomach.  _ Does he like me?... no-no he was just being nice, Saph.  _

Rushing through her remaining chores and driving to Marnies to drop off her eggs for the festival Saphina quickly showered and dressed. Slipping on an above knee length floral dress she grabbed her jean jacket and ankle boots; rushing out to her truck. She was running late and didn’t want to miss the egg hunt. She loved watching the kids run around looking for all the colourful eggs Lewis and Robin hid. 

Kent stuck to a small standing table, a beer in his hand. He looked around the square every few minutes, hoping to see Saphina. When she entered the square his heat began racing. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, she was stunning, her hair flowed around her shoulders framing her face beautifully. She wore a flora dress that flared around her curves perfectly. She was the picture of spring, a smile lighting up her face. He took a sip of his beer, trying to seem nonchalant. She walked around the square, talking to everyone she encountered making them laugh. He wished he was next to her; laughing along with whatever she said. She stopped at Robin's family table; her hand running through her hair as she spoke. He couldn’t help but feel envious of Robin, they were obviously close, exchanging jokes and laughs like best friends. 

He was so inside his head he didn’t realise when his son Sam came over to him. “Hey, dad. Earth to dad.” Waving his hand in front of Kents face Sam glanced in the direction he was looking. 

“Oh, hey son. Whats up?” Kent felt the tips of his ears burn. He hoped his son didn’t look too much into where he was looking. 

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Sam cocked his head to the side and grinned.

“Oh, nothing. Just spaced out. Whats up? Need something?” He took a tentative sip of his beer. 

“Mom wanted you to help Vince out with the hunt. She said it’s gonna start soon so I should go and find you.”

Kent straightened up and nodded. “Alright.” He saw Saphina looking over at him, Robin talking to her. She was smiling.  _ -thump- _

Mayor Lewis called for the start of the egg hunt and everyone gathered around. Saphina scanned the crowd, eyes resting a little longer on Kent. Just as she was looking away Kents eyes found hers. They stared at each other for a couple seconds before Saphina felt her face begin to burn; tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and smiling she looked away.

As the egg hunt ended and Mayor Lewis counted the baskets Saphina found herself watching Kent again. She was leaning on a standing table and sipping a flowery drink, her eyes following the strong lines of his body. She was working up the courage to go talk to him, but she couldn’t think of a good reason. Until Lewis announced that Vincent had won the egg hunt. Straightening herself out she downed the rest of her drink and walked over to Kent and Vincent.

“Congratulations Vincent!” Saphina’s voice flitted above the noise of the crowd. 

Vincents face a huge grin as he turned to face her. “Thank you, Miss.Saphina!” He pulled out a large purple and yellow striped egg, showing it off. 

Saphina knelt down to Vincent and looked into his basket. “So many colourful eggs! How did you beat Abigail this year?”

Smiling Vincent looked up at his dad. “Dad helped me! He lifted me up to all the high places!” 

Saphina looked up at Kent with a smile and straightened herself up. “Wow that was nice of him.” She said ruffling Vincent’s red hair. “What did you get from Mayor Lewis for your big win?” She asked, looking between the two.

“I got this BIG CHOCOLATE BUNNY!” Vincent yelled and held a large chocolate bunny above his head, his basket of eggs sliding down his arm. 

Laughing, Saphina said. “Don’t eat that all in one night, you’ll get sick.” 

As she spoke Kent couldn’t help but stare at her. The late afternoon sun highlighting her hair and making her glow. - _ thump- -thump thump- _

Clearing his throat Kent said. “Saphina’s right, Vincent. You can have some tonight but then you should give it to your mom for safe keeping.” He smiled at Saphina. Her eyes were on him as he spoke. Her vibrant green eyes.  _ -thump- _

Vincent took a big bite of the bunnies ear and bolted to his mom, who was standing next to Caroline, chatting. 

“Vinc- cent ” Kent trailed off as his son ran away. 

“Kids are the best.” Saphina looked off after Vincent with a soft smile.

“Yeah, th-they’re a - great.” Kent spoke disjointedly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Turning back to Kent with a smile Saphina sighed. “Well this was a successful festival. Did you try Gus’s custard tarts? They’re amazing… I’ve had like, twenty.” she trailed off her face turning a soft pink. She was fidgeting with the hem of her dress. 

“No, I haven’t. I-I’ll try em.” Kents heart skipped a beat.  _ Is she nervous? Around me? Did she just blush? _ He thought. - _ thump _ -

“SAPHINA!” Robin called out from across the town square to her friend. “SAPHINA! GUS BROUGHT OUT MORE DRINKS!” Robin was already tispy. 

With a giggle Saphina smiled. “I should get back to Robin. Hope you have a nice rest of the festival.” She turned towards Robin and yelled back. “DON’T DRINK THEM ALL!”

“Yeah, you too.” He said as Saphina went to walk back to her friend. 

She turned around, walking backwards. “Enjoy some eggs!” She called back to him with a bright smile and a wink.


End file.
